There are many perks to this job, but the key one is getting to meet and learn from so many amazing women. Often they’re women who’re already on my radar, that we read about regularly or who I’ve seen speak at various events.
But one such woman who was not on my radar before I had the opportunity to meet her back in 2013, was the CSIRO’s Dr Kimberley Clayfield. We met in Sydney at the Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards, where Clayfield was a finalist. She went on to win the Emerging Leader in the NFP sector award, and we’ve stayed in email contact.
Like everyone at the awards luncheon that day, I was seriously impressed.
Clayfield was then the executive manager of Space Sciences and Technology at CSIRO, and played a vital role in leading a four-year, $40 million Australian Space Research Program. When women represent less than 10% of our national engineering workforce, she’s carved out an intriguing career in a vital and fascinating research area.
Since our awards in 2013, Clayfield’s gone on to win a swag of other awards. In 2013, she was named as one of five inaugural Young Space Leaders by the International Astronautical Federation. In 2014, she received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Lawrence Sperry Award and The University of Adelaide James McWha Award of Excellence. Later, she was elected Chair of Engineers Australia’s National Committee on Space Engineering for 2015 and 2016, the first woman to hold this role.
Clayfield’s also been appointed the CSIRO SKA Consortium Officer, helping to run Australia’s role as a key partner in the international square kilometre array (SKA) radio-telescope project, while still continuing to provide support and advice on space policy-related matters across CSIRO. Australia is set to host one component of the telescope (the low frequency array) in Western Australia, with the CSIRO responsible for leading the largest of the engineering teams involved in the project, the Dish Consortium, responsible for designing the mid-frequency antennas (that being the dishes).
As executive officer for the Dish Consortium, Clayfield has a huge range of responsibilities, including supporting the Consortium Leader, convening the international Dish Consortium Board, managing legal processes with the Consortium, and providing formal reporting on Consortium project milestones for the SKA Organisation and the Australian Government.
While Clayfield’s currently taking a break from work, she says she’s seriously enjoying the role. It’s a “big science” project, she says, and she loves being a part of it.
So while we’re loudly (and proudly) celebrating the wins of various great female athletes during the Olympics, take a moment to consider the fact women are doing seriously incredible things outside of sport. They just don’t always get a moment of glory in a large stadium, or become the face of various advertising and marketing campaigns.
Watch the moment Clayfield won the 2013 Emerging Leader in the NFP sector below. Nominations for our 2016 program are now open. Enter here.